What It Takes
by Akatsuki Dawn
Summary: What will it take...for him to care" Ayame, Koga's fiancee, hs been in love with him for six years, while Koga chases after Kagome and her older twin Kikyo. So what will he do when she is taken by the evil presence in the Higurashi Wellhouse?
1. Ayame: Maybe

A/N: Hi. This is my first InuYasha fan fiction, not minding the fact that my sister is feeding me all the juicy details since I'm on like Episode 50 and she's on like Episode 145. It's a present-day story. But tune in. This is sappy-sweet. And please, prepare a barf bag and breathing device before reading. The atrocious phrasing and bad pairings will make you barf, and the lack of facts will make you red in the face with laughter. At me.

Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. It's not mine, thank God. I'd ruin it, and make it so that there is no InuYasha, since I'd just make it that Onigumo never existed, and Kikyo and InuYasha led a happy peaceful life. Excuse me while I lock myself in that unbreakable fireproof box over there before I am mauled by Kagome/InuYasha fans.

Note: In this story, the Higurashi family goes in this order: Grandfather, Mom, Kikyo (16), Kagome (16), Sota (12) and Kaede (6). All other characters' ages go this way: Sesshoumaru (18), InuYasha (17), Koga (17), and Ayame (16). This is purely InuKag, SessKik and KogAya, and Miroku and Sango will show up very much later. And hey, if Koga likes Kagome that much and Kikyo looks like Kagome, why doesn't Koga take a fancy to Kikyo, too? And also…after much debating…I have decided InuYasha's hair is like Hojo's, and Sesshoumaru's is collar long and not even ended like Haku's.

* * *

As Higurashi Kikyo was exiting her front door, she suddenly stopped, turning sharply and scanning the courtyard with her chocolate eyes. Her younger twin sister paused, too, looking up at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. Slowly, Kikyo turned. "…Nothing. Let's go, we're already late." Kagome nodded unsurely, but, with a reassuring smile from her sister, continued skipping down the steps leading to Sunset Shrine. With one final, quick look to the well house, Kikyo ran to catch up with Kagome.

* * *

In the darkness of the small hut containing a wooden well, two red slits opened. She didn't see him, but the miko knew he was there. Slowly, the slits faded away slowly. No matter. He would find the girl soon, and he would leave this stinking place.

* * *

**What It Takes**

**Chapter One**

_Maybe

* * *

_

Ayame entered the park cautiously. Her face brightened when she saw the two girls. "Kagome! Kikyo!" Kagome squealed an "Ayame!" while Kikyo smiled, saying quietly, "Good afternoon, Ayame."

Kikyo was wearing a pale blue halter top and mid-calf length white caprice, with her hair tied up in its usual way in a white ribbon. She had white sandals on, and carried a small white shoulder bag. Kagome wore a tight green three-quarter sleeved top with "Sweet Sixteen" across the chest in glittering silver letters. She wore white short shorts and running shoes, with a forest green handbag.

Ayame wore a pair of red Khaki slacks and a tight, orange-yellow tie-dye tank top. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, though the iris still laying its usual place in front of her left ear. She had a tiny red backpack with a buckle made of crystals in the shape of an iris.

Skipping over to the cherry tree under which Kagome was sitting and where Kikyo was propped against the trunk, Ayame squatted down. They sat in silence for a while. "Onee-san, I thought you said we were late." Kikyo looked at the watch. "We were. They're later."

After about seven minutes, a black Mercedes-Benz and a red sports car pulled up, parking. Two men slowly exited the black front doors, while the door of the red sports car was promptly kicked open. A boy of seventeen with a long black ponytail with brown slacks and a white shirt jumped out, immediately speeding off. A millionth of a second later, he was in front of Kagome, holding her hands. "Did you miss me?" he asked. Ayame sighed sadly while Kikyo watched amusedly. Kagome laughed nervously.

Suddenly, Koga's head was smashed into the ground. A boy about the same age with silver hair in red sweatpants and a white muscle shirt stood triumphantly with one foot on Koga's head. "Keep your greasy hands off my Kagome!" Kikyo laughed softly. "InuYasha, you are too possessive." Koga eyed her silently. "And how are you, Kikyo? You look as beautiful as ever." Kikyo watched him for a few moments. Kagome and Ayame did, too, clearly expecting something. So if what they were waiting for were both InuYasha and Sesshoumaru slamming their fists into random parts of his anatomy, they would've been pleased.

Sesshoumaru glared at Koga silently. "She's taken." InuYasha glared too. "Keep your greasy hands off the ex-girlfriend, too, you mangy wolf!" "Shut up, mutt! What do you know about girls?" "I know to keep them away from you!" As an argument began, Sesshoumaru, in a white polo shirt and silver-gray khakis handed Kikyo a small but pretty bouquet of violets and lilies, dotted with little white flowers and leaves. Kikyo smiled, taking the bouquet into her arms and smelling the flowers. Setting it down beside her, she commented, "You're late." Sesshoumaru moved beside her swiftly. "I know."

Ayame watched this exchange a little sadly. Kikyo and Kagome seemed to notice, as Sesshoumaru was watching the argument-turned-fight with remote interest. Standing up, Kikyo helped Ayame and Kagome up, announcing, "We're already late. You two break it off and let's go!" Reluctantly, and somehow without bruises, the two stalked off to their respective rides. Ayame smiled at them and skipped after Koga, while Kikyo, Kagome and Sesshoumaru left to the direction of the Mercedes.

* * *

After a short drive, the group arrived at the largest mall in Tokyo. The girls jumped out first, rushing in, one with excitement, one with anticipation and one with indifference, leaving the guys to follow in dread, misery and…indifference. 

Koga scratched his head. "We're carrying the bags again?" InuYasha nodded glumly. "Bro, you are so lucky. Kagome and Ayame can clear out my bank account in less than three minutes flat. Kikyo hardly buys anything at all, and if she does most of the time they're either antiques or art pieces that are delivered, or small things she carries herself in that shoulder bag." Sesshoumaru smirked. "I know."

It turns out InuYasha was right. Kagome had already cleared $1000 yen in one store, forcing InuYasha himself to carry everything. In the next shop, a jewelry shop, Ayame and Kagome ravished their credit cards, topping $2500 each minimum. If InuYasha hadn't owned 25 of his father's property (the other 75 going to Sesshoumaru) and if Koga hadn't been the heir of his own mother and Ayame's grandfather, they'd have been broke in one hour flat (Ayame peeling off Koga's bank account and her own).

Kikyo, however, had been so far only interested in a silver necklace with a pendant. The pendant portrayed a pink tinted diamond bellflower with a short emerald stem/vine curling around the flower, with sapphire water drops and jade leaves. A tiny silver loop allowed it to hang from a thin silver chain. This Sesshoumaru paid for, hiding something close to laughter at his brother and brother's friend's pained faces-and the large, heavy bags.

Kikyo stored the velvet covered box into her shoulder bag after putting on the necklace and giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned to Koga and InuYasha. "Really, you two should set a budget. Those two really go crazy." Koga watched Sesshoumaru with an evil eye. "Does _he_ set a budget?" he asked. Kikyo looked mildly surprised. "No, why would he?"

Koga and InuYasha both fell over-either due to dramatic impulse or the fact that they had recently moved on into a shoe shop, and their were being loaded with boxes. Setting the bags and boxes down, they looked at Kikyo as if she were crazy. "You hardly buy _anything_!" Kikyo examined a pair of dark blue silk covered high heeled strappy sandals that were glittery under light. "Is that a crime?" she asked as she took the pair and tried them on. Koga looked at InuYasha. "Is that only the second thing she's looked at today?" his silver-haired friend nodded grimly. "It's still a wonder to me why you went after Kagome instead." Kikyo set the shoes down. The younger boys' eyes lit up with hope. Maybe Sesshoumaru would have to carry something after all!

"Too small. They don't have any more in this color," she informed them. The two boys sighed. Sesshoumaru, however, frowned. "Do you like them?" he asked. Kikyo considered, and nodded slowly. Sesshoumaru called the clerk and asked for the shoes to be delivered in Kikyo's size when a pair arrived. Koga gawked. InuYasha stared. Kikyo smiled and gave a small thank-you (to which Sesshoumaru answered with a nod) and set off to find the other girls. Sesshoumaru smirked at Koga and InuYasha.

"I don't know why you two insist on betting that Kikyo would spend as much or buy as much as your girlfriend and your fiancée, but it seems you two will be owing me quite a bit of money."

* * *

Kikyo had immediately found Kagome in the ladies' boots department. She informed her younger sister of the risks of spending too much money ("If he goes bankrupt because of your frequent visits to the mall, you won't get that gargantuan wedding you wanted if you marry him."), how so many shoes will be unnecessary ("If you change your shoes too often your feet can't adjust to them and they'll turn wonky, and if you only wear some pairs the others will be just left there and will eventually be too small, on which occasion you will be donating them without using them, which isn't that much of a bad thing now that I think of it..."), what other wonderful things you can do with money ("Instead of buying these stuff you can take us all to Australia for a three-week vacation, or you can donate to charities and save the lives of countless people.") and managed to convince her to move on ("And if you don't hurry up I'll tell Sota where your jelly worm stash is.") 

Ayame, on the other hand, was a bit difficult. Knowing Ayame's hot color and fur likings, she checked the boots collection and the heels, to no avail. Finally, she found her friend in a change room.

Ayame was crouched in the hollow in the wall where the cushioned seat was. She was curled up in a little ball, trembling, her bangs covering her eyes. Kikyo blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. Walking over slowly, she knelt in front of Ayame. "What's wrong?" Ayame looked up, startled. Then, seeing it was only Kikyo, she sighed.

"It's Koga," she said, "I don't think he even _wants_ to marry me. Whenever I'm around all he cares about are you, Kagome and his money. I think the only reason he didn't break off the engagement is because he'll be Grandpa's heir if he marries me."

Kikyo frowned, considering the situation. "Well," she reasoned, "Why did he propose to you in the first place?" Ayame rested her chin on her knees. "I met him when I was twelve…"

_----_

_A girl with red hair and a purple Dutch iris clutched in one hand ran as fast as she could. Behind her shouts of "Hey, you!" and "Get back here, twit!" rang out._

_Suddenly the little girl tripped, falling underneath a tree in the park. Her white clothes were stained with mud, as it was raining._

_Three older boys appeared around the corner. One was tall, with greasy blonde hair and a yellow-toothed sneer. Another was short and muscular, with dark hair covering his eyes and untied shoes. The third was of medium height with brown hair and grey eyes that was fairly good-looking. He was smirking. "So, the little princess, stealing from my garden…"_

_The girl trembled. "I-I didn't know it was yours! I-I just saw it and thought it was just there, so I took it!"_

_The short boy guffawed. "Children shouldn't steal, should they? Now you need to be punished!" With a shout of "Yeah!" from both him and the blonde, they jumped at her._

"_Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" Somebody kicked the short boy in midair while punching the other in the face at the same time. The redhead girl watched amazed as they stood and ran away with the brown-haired boy. The person turned._

"_Koga!" The dark-haired 14-year-old boy looked a bit confused, then his blue eyes widened. "Ayame! What are you doing here?"_

_Moments later, Koga had picked up his umbrella-which he had left when he ran to rescue Ayame-and began to walk her home. "So, why were you after that flower? And why were those idiots chasing after you, since the west forest is your grandfather's land?" he asked. Ayame fidgeted. "Tomorrow is my thirteenth birthday," she finally said. "I'm moving to the mountains to live with Grandpa. He's going to train me to fight, since that's what children of my clan learn to do at coming-of-age. This flower is the same as my name. I want to take it with me, since the mountains don't have them."_

_Koga looked a bit worried. "Well, don't stress yourself, okay? And if it doesn't work out, don't you worry, because when you come down from the mountains, I'll take you to be my wife."_

_Ayame smiled, and the two continued walking in the rain._

_----_

Kikyo nodded sadly. "Don't worry," she told her friend, "If he said that, he'll mean it. And he does care about you. I mean, you tell him you want to go to the mall and spend everything in his credit card, and sure, he complains, but he lets you, doesn't he? He wants you happy."

Ayame smiled, nodding. She quickly wiped her eyed. "Yeah," she said quietly, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Kikyo." Kikyo stood, helping Ayame up. "So let's go. Everyone's waiting."

* * *

When Kikyo and Ayame arrived, InuYasha was just off his cell phone. He spotted Kikyo. "Hey! What took you a millennium?" Ayame rolled her eyes. "We had a little problem with a zipper." Ayame looked at Kikyo in surprise. She lied and brushed it away so easily! 

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Feh. Sesshoumaru left about three minutes after you did. He just remembered to call a few seconds ago. He told me he went to some business meeting about that agreement we made in Majorca about taking up our business there too. He said he transferred enough dough into your account to last the rest of the day."

Kikyo took out her bank card-which she hadn't used so far-and walked out of the shoe store. Everyone else followed a few minutes later in curiosity.

They found Kikyo walking out of a bank, holding a receipt. Everyone crowded around. "Well?" Koga demanded, "How much?" Kikyo read the receipt over again, then, smiling and shaking her head, she passed it around.

InuYasha and Koga both blanched and muttered something sounding very much like 'bet money'. Kagome almost screamed and Ayame squealed.

"62,000!" Kikyo nodded. "He transferred 50,000; I had about 12,000 originally…" Kikyo smiled, looking up at everyone. "Well, I guess I'm buying presents then!"

Everyone cheered.

* * *

Ayame sighed, flopping down onto her bed. Her white wolfhound had already gone to sleep. 

She reflected slowly.

Kikyo had gone to a bookstore first, a North American one called 'Chapters'. She had bought full collections of manga, such as Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket, Chobits, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, XXXHolic, Card Captor Sakura and Rurouni Kenshin. They, of course, were online shopping and were to be delivered.

Ayame rummaged in one of the bags Koga had brought home for her. Wrapped in layers and layers of tissue paper was Kikyo's present.

It was a figurine: a tinted lavender glass iris with a green stem and leaves, with tiny water droplets of diamond. It was connected into a clear glass vase with diamond water droplets, artistically leaning on one side to touch the lip of the vase. It stood on a purple-pink tinted glass platform, a bit off centered, that let it stand. "_AYAME_" was engraved on top of the platform in the larger space before the vase in violet-blue.

Kikyo. As Ayame took her shower, she thought about her friend: the never needing, the silent, the helpful, and the kind. Kikyo, who always offered a shoulder to cry on, yet never needing one herself. Ayame vaguely wondered if Kikyo was perfect. But Kagome was so different: kind, yes, helpful, yes. But her joy of spending and receiving overcame her joy of giving, and she always needed a shoulder for any reason. But Kagome was a nice girl: loud and proud, but nice. No wonder Koga liked them.

They were much better than her.

Ayame pulled her silk lavender coverlet over her warm body. She reflected sleepily Kikyo's words.

"_Don't worry, if he said that, he'll mean it. And he does care about you. I mean, you tell him you want to go to the mall and spend everything in his credit card, and sure, he complains, but he lets you, doesn't he? He wants you happy."_

Ayame laughed softly. "If I'm less of a burden to you…" she murmured, "If I spend less and squeal less, if I'm not so clingy and needy and loud and bratty, then maybe, just _maybe_…"

Her eyes closed.

"Maybe you might love me."

* * *

A/N: Say it sucks. Say Sesshoumaru's OOC. Say it's sappy. Say I'm nuts. Say I should be in a mental house. Say I need a straightjacket. Say I should vote for the Conservatives-wait, sorry, that's not supposed to be in here…Say I should just give up writing and go hang myself over London bridge. I don't care what you say. Compliment, revise, correction or flame, I DON'T CARE. Just review. 


	2. Kikyo: Omen

A/N: Hi, I'm back…quite unfortunately. I've just got my lazy brother's butt off the couch and sent him out to go swimming, cause he was hogging the comp. And Asami's out with Mitchan and Orihime-kun, so…yeah. And I'm still getting over Mitchan's reaction of not reading my story because Kikyo was wearing blue and not white and red. Errg.

So, it's time for **THE REVIEWS**

**Kate-Kotobuki**: Thanks!

**chickgurla**: Hey, Asami told me you got an account...Chicks Gurla? Methinks? Anyways, thanks for reviewing…the five of you…

**Snail-sama**: thanks for reviewing! LOL

**Sakura Arielle**: Well, meh! I haven't met her yet! So there!

**Fran KC**: Pray tell if there's an underscore there…I can't see it, sorry if there is. And thank you. No, Ayame isn't, but she'll be trying to be less…stick-to-the-Koga, if I can put it that way. Thanks again.

**ILuVxSeSsHyx4eVa**: Wow. It took me a while to type that in. Heh. Thank you. I'm sorry for the late update. And self-bashing is a hobby of mine…if Orihime-kun doesn't convince Kohaku-onii-chan to do it first.

Now, on with the story!

Koga: No, wait a minute…you forgot something…

Hmm? I did?

Koga: Well, it starts with a D, ends with an R, and has 'ISCLAIME' in the middle. Take a well educated guess, puffball.

proceeds throttling Koga I know it's not mine, dofus! If it was, I'd've made sure Kikyo did NOT die, the freakin' arrow MISSED for some weird reason, they lived happily ever after and that crybaby Kagome never existed. And don't bash me about it! I stick to my opinions, and I'm improving Kagome in my opinion in this story! P.S., I'm mentioning a few-well, four characters from Sakuya (Chicks Gurla on FF, Fake Wings on FW)'s new story, and they're KIYOUMI (KIKI), JINEH, KENJI and MOMITCHI.

Note: the uniforms are exactly as they are from the series, so use your imagination. And the girls' skirts can be either the length of Kagome's, ¾ thigh length or a bit over knee-length. And also, I hope you can see that it is narrating based on one character at a time. It was Ayame last time, and now it's Kikyo. I think it'll be in order like this: Kagome, Sango, Sesshoumaru, InuYasha, Miroku, Koga, and then repeat. I'll alert you all of any changes in this pattern.

* * *

Kikyo paused, peeking inside the small well house. She was, evidently, on shrine duty, and Grandpa had needed that powdered mummified goose tongue he had stored in the shelves by the well. She looked around a second more, before stepping in.

"AAAH!" the shriek came as she was grabbed by her ankle and dragged down the small flight to stairs, picked up upside-down and slammed onto the well cover.

A large, dainty blue eye peered at her closely. "Not you. It's definitely not you. Pretty lass, this girl, though. Would you like to keep her, master?"

"NOOO…" came an angry hiss. The blue eye narrowed. "Hmm. If I had more time, I'd take her. Oh, well." Then she was picked up again and slammed up the stairs and thrown out the door, into the rain.

_Strange…_Kikyo thought, ignoring the pain at the ankle, back and shoulder, _It was perfectly sunny a few moments ago…_

She fainted to the fading sound of her mother, sister and brother calling her, and the last thing she saw was Kagome's worried face.

* * *

**What It Takes**

**Chapter Two**

_Omen

* * *

_

Ayame paused briefly before opening the mahogany door, painted a luscious, pearly pale blue. Peeking in, she winced and closed it. "Well?" She turned sadly to the small group gathered behind her.

It was a month since the mall incident. Sango and Miroku had come back from Honolulu, and everything was fine…until Kikyo became the victim of some strange thing lurking inside the wellhouse.

She had been going in to retrieve a small jar of medicinal herbs. Something had grabbed her leg, dragged her down and thrown her onto the cover that went over the opening of the well. After examining her briefly, the something dumped her down the steps leading to the wellhouse and left her there, unconscious.

Sango's face was anxious. Kagome's was pale, and Ayame's own was nearly hysterical. InuYasha, Kouga and Miroku stood silently behind the girls. Sesshoumaru had yet to be informed of the accident, since he had left for a business trip just a week ago. Clearly everyone was hoping Kikyo would heal before he came back…tommorow.

The door creaked open behind Ayame.

"KIKYO!" Everyone rushed in to support the girl on her crutches, pale and thin. Kikyo's hair was braided into a stiff, thick braid and looped up, tied with a white ribbon. She was wearing a comfortable cotton Miko outfit, and her left ankle was bandaged softly but firmly. She smiled slightly.

"Kikyo, you were just asleep when I peeked in! Did I wake you? I'm sorry!" Kikyo laughed. "No…truthfully, I was kind of hungry-"

"I'll get you something, Kikyo!"

"I'll tell mom, nee-chan-"

"You can't cook, Koga, shut up!"

"Sango's a wonder, you know, she'll fix something up…"

"-SLAP- And I thought you were just complimenting me!"

"What would you like to eat?"

"What happened here?"

Everyone froze, turning slowly. "Um…heh…nii-san…weren't you supposed to be back tomorrow?" "Is it wrong of me to come early?" Sesshoumaru asked, eyeing Kikyo's cast in an I'm-going-to-hurt-whoever-did-that way. "And what happened to her while I was gone?"

"Um…Sesshoumaru, have I ever complimented your style? Because that shirt is just _amazing_…" Sesshoumaru shot a glare at Miroku, who was laughing nervously. "Houshi, I have seen your wardrode and I daresay your collection of silk dress shirts is much greater than mine." Miroku's eye twitched. "Heh…"

Ayame fidgeted. "In truth, Sesshoumaru, there's something in the well house. When Kikyo went in to find something her Grand - er…a customer asked for it dragged her around and slammed her against things nad she broke her ankle."

She looked up through her bangs to see a sullen-looking Sesshoumaru. "I'm okay, though," Kikyo, added, with a smiled. Everyone else looked at her, and all but Sesshoumaru yelped. She looked good as new, and had deposited the crutches, hiding them behind the doorframe. She had a sweet smiled on her face that quickly turned into surprise when Sesshoumaru hugged her, tight, his fingers digging into her back. "I'm glad…" he whispered, as the others began to edge away into Kikyo's room. "I'm glad you're okay. You could've died…"

He straightened up; a small smiled gracing his lips. "Do you need anything?" She paused, considering. "Well, no, actually. I believe I'm fine, but thank you." He nodded. "I need to be by the office in half an hour, and I'll be back for dinner (A/N: Every Friday the group of InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Sesshoumaru, Kikyo, Koga and Ayame have dinner together at a restaurant, and they take turns paying. It's Sesshy's turn.). I came by to tell you I got a certificate of sponsorship for you, for two children…a young girl eight-year-old named Isuzu, nicknamed Rin, whose parents had died when she was very young, and a five year old named Shippo, whose widower father died when hit by lighting. I had them mailed to you by next week."

He paused. "I'll be going now." Kikyo smiled. "Thank you. Good bye." Sesshoumaru shot her one last smiled and left.

* * *

Kikyo looked at the people in her room. InuYasha was lounging in the cushioned rocking chair, Miroku was reading a magazine in a loveseat, Sango was sitting on the carpet playing cat's cradle with Ayame who insisted on triple-string, and Kagome was making the bed. Koga and InuYasha were engaged in a glaring-no-blink-or-laugh-contest, with Koga sitting on the velvet chair, pulled to face the rocking chair.

"Hello? People?" Everyone looked at her. "Kikyo! You shouldn't be off your crutches!" Kikyo laughed. "Oh, the doctor came in half an hour before you guys came back from the All American Outlet (A.N: Ever heard of it? No? It's in Tokyo, Japan, and there's one in Osaka and Kyoto too. There are all these really famous or popular North American stores, and there's all fifty to seventy five of them in an outlet ring, like Dixie Outlet Mall, but MUCH better. Look for one when you're visiting. They might not be there anymore, seeing as I came to Canada when I was five from Tokyo and they had torn the Honshu Island AAO down) and told me I could take off the cast. I kept it on as a joke."

Everyone stared.

"But I still have a scab, so shut up all of you."

* * *

Kikyo pulled up her white socks over the scab. She winced as her nail touched the sensitive, pink skin around it that was still scraped. But she was okay.

"Kikyo!" She turned and exited the room. She wore a lavender silk skirt that was half-calf length. With it she had a sleeveless white silk pearl button-up shirt.

"KI-KI-YO!" "Okay, okay, I'm coming, I'm coming…"

Kagome smiled as Kikyo came down the stairs. She wore a pale green skirt, knee-length, with a loping belt that hung low on one side; three glittering lengths of silvery gold pinned together with a forest green star-shaped pin where it hung low and flowed for a few inches. She also wore a white spaghetti-strap top with a glittery satin covering that was transparent and had ¾ sleeves.

"So, how's your ankle?"

"Oh, the ankle's fine. It's the scrape I'm worried about."

"Hmm."

"Yes."

"Ayame…she's in my class. And Sango's in yours…"

"…yes, that's right…"

"And InuYasha and Koga are in your class too, right?"

"Yes."

"Summer vacation leaves me so confused."

"Haha…me too, nee-chan. Me too."

"Oh, by the way, Kiki called…"

"Kiyoumi?"

"Yes, she said…"

And the two proceeded to wait for the car that would take them to dinner.

* * *

The round table was huge; it was a perfect first class restaurant. A round swerving-turning, more like it-glass circle sat in the middle, and plates, forks, knives and chopsticks were set in place for eight.

Kikyo sat herself between her sister and Ayame. Beside Kagome was Sango, beside her was Miroku, and then InuYasha. Across from Kikyo was Sesshoumaru, beside him was Koga, who also happened to be beside Ayame. Ayame wore a white a dress sprigged with little purple flowers, with no sleeves and a button-up top. Sango wore a black halter top and a pale pink skirt. Koga wore a white shirt and brown silk pants. InuYasha wore a red dress shirt and black jeans. Sesshoumaru was in a half-buttoned white silk dress shirt and black dress pants.

"So," Sesshoumaru started, after every placed their orders, "What other interesting things happened while I was gone?"

Everyone laughed nervously. The way he said 'other interesting things' stated the fact that he was clearly not happy about what had happened to Kikyo. Everyone beside Sesshoumaru, Kikyo and Kagome laughed nervously.

"I finally got to study for my entrance exams since InuYasha had stopped bothering me about what _I _should get _him _for his birthday-and YES, I did take the hint about the NARAKU CHEW TOY for your 'dog' so DON'T YOU SAY A THING MISTER-so I got an A+ on it…"

"Miroku left Jineh and Kiki alone! ALONE! I think he's getting over this womanizing thing…"

"Did I mention Sango and I were getting engaged? And Sango, dear, I only stopped because Kenji and Momitchi blackmailed me…besides, Kiyoumi's sister is still an option…I wonder if Ayame Himemiya is free tomorrow…"

"WHAT!"

"Well, um, Grandpa said that my singing was horrible and when I'm married Koga would want entertainment, so he's scheduled me for vocal and harp lessons…"

"WHAT! I'm going to go THROTTLE that grandfather of yours-"

"To get the money quicker?"

"…"

"I HATE YOU!"

"Kagome stopped whimpering about the fact that I refused to let her use my money to donate to an orphan when Kikyo offered her the certificate for Shippo…"

"I found out what the thing in the well was…"

Everyone stared at Koga.

"Well?" Kikyo inquired, "What is it?"

"Um…dangerous…"

Everyone stared at him.

"What? It's true! Or are you all just stupid?"

"Koga," Kikyo began calmly, taking a sip of her strawberry-banana-kiwi smoothie. "You should work in information technology." "Oh?" he perked up, immediately interested, "Why so?"

"It's because what you've told me is technically correct, but of no use to anyone."

Everyone sniggered.

"Kikyo," Koga shot back, "You should be a businessman."

"Why so?"

"You don't know what your attacker is or what it wants, but you expect me to be able to help. You've not progressed on the answer a single bit, but somehow now it's my fault."

Everybody waited for Kikyo's response.

"That, my friend, is not possible," she told him, "I'm female, and you said business_man_. Besides, when you find yourself talking to Sesshoumaru you always get somewhere, and, though nothing's ever his fault, it's helping. I don't believe all businesspeople follow your code of conduct, Koga…"

Dinner continued.

* * *

Kikyo watched as her twin sister paused briefly before sliding over the door of the well house. "Kagome, be careful." "I'll be fine, Kikyo! Kaede's climbing the tree. She's slipping."

Kikyo sighed, and walked over to lift Kaede from the tree when-

"Kikyo! KIKYO, GET OVER HERE, QUICK!"

She did so, after sending Kaede back to the house, and grabbed Kagome from the stairs quickly. A white hand withdrew from beneath the landing quickly.

"Neesan, what _is_ that?" Kikyo's brow furrowed.

There was a pause. Then, finally,

"Dangerous."

* * *

"Grandfather, we have to shut down the wellhouse."

"We can't do that! The wellhouse is a sacred attraction for many of those who visit our shrine!"

"Would you like to pay the hospital bills of those people who get injured, as well as hiring a lawyer to hold your own when one of them sues you?"

"It's a dangerous place! I agree entirely, my dear granddaughter. It'll be done IMMEDIATELY."

"…thought so…"

* * *

A/N: The little Kikyo/Koga retorting session isn't mine. It's from February 2002's **Reader's Digest**'s _Laughter, the Best Medicine_. Please review! I know this chapter was completely pointless, but bear with the amateur! 


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